When Arizona Aeorspace Companies Look Abroad, They Mostly Look To Mexico
Arizona’s aerospace companies have long made up one of the state’s most important private employment sector.
There are more than 12,000 of them in the state’s urban and rural areas, and include large manufacturers such as Boeing, which assembles helicopters in Mesa, and small component suppliers such as the Phoenix-based Wamore, which makes equipment and software for drops from high altitudes.
"We’ve got one of the largest aerospace sectors in the country," said Kevin O'Shea, vice president for international trade at the Arizona Commerce Authority.
Many of the state’s companies export to countries including France, Israel and Japan, but their biggest export market is in Mexico, O’Shea said.
The commerce authority has been helping Arizona companies market their services and products to business and government in Mexico for at least five years, O’Shea said.
This week, at least eight Arizona companies will be represented at the Mexico Aerospace Fair just outside Mexico City.
The Mexican aerospace industry grew by an average 17 percent every year from 2004 to 2014 and is expected to top $12 billion in exports in the year 2020, according to the country’s economic development agency, ProMexico.
This represents opportunities for American companies looking to export — both to companies in the commercial and military sectors, said Robert Grosse, professor and director for Latin America at the Thunderbird School of Global Management.
"This is a huge industry in Mexico," Grosse said.
